Nicki Minaj Says New Album Will Be The Most Impactful Of Her Career; Talks Recording Process

After lading three covers of DAZED magazine two weeks ago, Nicki Minaj’s cover story from the edition has finally been made public. In the story, the rap superstar discusses her 10 year reign at the top, what she has learned from the industry, her fearless attitude, making of her new album, upcoming collaboration with Young Thug and more.

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About the new, yet untitled album, Nicki says it will be her best yet. “This era will be a billion times more epic than anything ‘Anaconda’ could have delivered. I think this era will definitely be the most memorable and the most impactful of my career yet.”

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Nicki also makes it clear that this time around, she didn’t put much pressure on herself regarding date deadlines. She just wants to create music, which she has been doing based out of Miami for the past few months. “I’ve made it my business with this album to not even put a date or a deadline on it,” she says. “I can’t say if I’m fifty-per-cent, eighty-per-cent or ten-per-cent done, because I don’t know. Tomorrow, I might walk into the studio and decide that I don’t like anything I’ve done in the last six months. Or, tomorrow I might walk in and feel like the whole album is done. There’s so much beauty in not knowing. I just want to go in the studio and create like I used to, before there were any expectations. You know? When I was just having fun, working on my mixtapes, going in and creating… writing my little life.”

Here are a few more excerpts from the interview.

On going back to listen to her old tapes: “It told me so much. It taught me what drew people to me in the first place, and I needed to have that conversation with myself. Now, I have it figured out again.”

Whether Roman will return on new album: “Everyone has been asking me about Roman. Will Roman come back? If Roman is needed, then Roman will be there. I’m not going to do anything that feels forced. I’m doing this for my core fans.”

On her 10 year reign: “Look, I came into this industry saying I would never sleep with a man to get what I wanted and I would always write my own raps, because I’ve always been smart enough to do that. I’ve done it. I’ve kept true to my main promises to myself. Everybody can’t say that. So, the same things that may have been looked at as bad at the beginning of my career, or at the beginning of my life – maybe my bosses thought I was a little bit much – those things made me able to open doors for female rappers, to get a lot of money, to have a major influence and to see that translated into our bank accounts. I know a lot of girls who are going to reap the benefits of that ‘attitude’. And I wasn’t fired for having a bad attitude, I think I was fired because I voiced my opinion. Even to this day, people are uncomfortable when women voice their opinions. Everybody wants you to just smile to the camera and be quiet and take what you get. I’m not that girl.”

On recording with Young Thug: “I was so blown away by his artistry. I can’t wait for people to hear that collaboration.”